Wages and Salaries

News about Wages and Salaries, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 24, 2015

On average, male nurses make $5,100 more than female nurses, a new study says. MORE

Mar. 24, 2015

Judge Michael H Dolinger rules that Ji Sung Yoo, owner of Korean restaurant Kum Gang San in Queens, and two restaurant managers owe 11 employees $2.67 million in wages; company has yet to pay $1.95 million in damages for wages owed to 66 employees as part of separate investigation that finished in 2010. MORE

Mar. 22, 2015

Editorial cautions that economic forecasters who hope Easter shopping and warmer weather will boost economy are making familiar mistake of relying on seasonal upswings; warns these have not heralded enduring improvement in economy for years; underscores need for policy changes like increase of minimum wage and tougher trade pacts to strengthen wage growth and overall economy. MORE

Mar. 21, 2015

Editorial contends time for Obama administration and Labor Department to overhaul nation's outdated rules on overtime pay is running out, with February deadline for proposal having passed; says White House should strive to meet demands for threshold of at least $1,000 per week at which salaried workers cease to be eligible for overtime; warns that failure to act could result in no changes to law if Republican president is elected in 2016. MORE

Mar. 19, 2015

Some of Japan's most prominent companies announce largest pay increases in years, including Toyota, Panasonic and Hitachi; announcements are most substantial results from efforts on part of Prime Min Shinzo Abe to pressure country's businesses to raise workers' pay, part of broader economic growth plans. MORE

Mar. 19, 2015

Target says it will raise pay of its workers to at least $9 per hour, joining other large retailers that have been under pressure from labor groups. MORE

Mar. 7, 2015

Labor Dept reports employers increased payrolls by 295,000 jobs in February, briging unemployment rate down to 5.5 percent, but that wages continue to lag and rose only 0.1 percent for private-sector workers; report spurs new round of optimism despite wage numbers and speculation that Federal Reserve may raise interest rates earlier rather than later. MORE

Mar. 2, 2015

Paul Krugman Op-Ed column notes Walmart's decision to raise wages for a half million of its workers will likely positively affect entire economy; holds change demonstrates how wage rates are a matter of choice rather than result of traditional market forces; argues that even wider-scale raises are certainly feasible, and would have a powerful net benefit for the country as a whole. MORE

Feb. 26, 2015

Labor activists are putting stronger focus on longstanding demand that retailers like Walmart grant their employees more work hours, and more consistency in scheduling those hours; change of focus comes as Walmart commits to wage increases and other retailers follow suit. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

Walmart says it will raise wages for half-million of its employees to minimum of $9 per hour by April and at least $10 by February 2016; changes come as company faces scrutiny for its labor practices, and as much-improved job market has made it difficult for them to maintain high rate of employee turnover; labor advocates say increase is insufficient. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

Jim Dwyer About New York column notes that coalition of legal groups and labor advocates is set to introduce bill calling for changes in New York law that will help workers cheated out of wages to collect what they are owed; collection can be made difficult by companies that are skilled at shifting or hiding their assets. MORE

Feb. 7, 2015

Harvey Araton On Pro Basketball notes former Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, who decided to skip 2015 WNBA season for more pay from her Russian team, is making more than $1.5 million this season in Russia; says that if Taurasi stayed in WNBA she would have made only a little more than $100,000; suggests WNBA, in effort to keep its best players, offer bonuses to players who limit overseas commitments to three months. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

Ford announces that it will add 1,550 jobs at four plants in United States to meet increased demand for new pickup truck; move will result in 300 to 500 entry-level employees moving up to $28-an-hour wage earned by longtime factory workers. MORE

Jan. 31, 2015

City officials confirm that senior members of Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration will receive raises of about 6 percent over next three years. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

BP says it is freezing wages of its 80,000 employees as oil prices drop. MORE

Jan. 26, 2015

Chief executives of successful companies may deserve handsome pay packages, but how do you value the contribution of the average worker? MORE

Jan. 15, 2015

The Upshot; report sponsored by Washington research group Center for American Progress finds that while wages for poor and middle class have stagnated in United States, they have risen in countries that intervene more with free market, provide more education to poor children and give employees more power in workplace; proposes solutions including more tax breaks for middle class and fewer for executive compensation. MORE

Jan. 14, 2015

The Upshot; new data suggests American workers, who have long struggled with wage stagnation, may have good reason to expect raises in 2015; positive trends include more job openings, strong optimism among small businesses and announcement by giant insurer Aetna that it will raise its minimum hourly pay to $16, an average 11 percent increase for its claims administrators and other low-level workers. MORE

Jan. 10, 2015

Labor Dept reports total employment numbers were up in December 2014 and unemployment rate improved to 5.6 percent; while numbers offer positive outlook for United States economy in 2015, decline in average hourly earnings suggests that economic recovery is still incomplete; combination of low unemployment and low wages complicates matters for Federal Reserve, which is expected to raise interest rates in 2015 for first time in years. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

Commonwealth Fund analyzes health care costs across states and finds workers with employee-sponsored health insurance are paying more for health care even as premium price increases have slowed; trend combined with stagnation of incomes results in heavier burden for workers. MORE

Jan. 5, 2015

Rachel L Swarns The Working Life column notes that there is hope for wage increases for New York City's hourly employees in 2015; observes that Valery Jourdan and other employees at Zara clothing stores fought for and are getting better pay and more opportunities in new year; questions, however, whether economy will deliver significant boost to all struggling New Yorkers. MORE

Dec. 22, 2014

Editorial applauds National Labor Relations Board's issuance of 13 complaints against McDonald's Corp and its franchisees for violating employee rights; calls move important bid of support for workers' fight for $15 per hour wage and right to unionize without retaliation. MORE

Dec. 20, 2014

National Labor Relations Board announces that it has brought 78 charges against McDonald's and some of its franchise operators for violating federal labor law in retaliation against workers' protests for higher wages; move draws outrage from variety of national business groups because it deems company joint employer, status that would make it equally responsible for actions taken at its franchised restaurants. MORE

Dec. 16, 2014

Many economists think diminishing unemployment and increased hiring are about to result in higher wages for middle class workers; overall wages rose 0.4 percent in November; extent of wage increases are in question, but Federal Reserve may leave interest rates as low as possible until definite trend is seen. MORE

Dec. 16, 2014

United Auto Workers president Dennis Williams says union will be asking for wage increases for its members in 2015 contract talks; says workers deserve bigger share in success of car companies. MORE

Dec. 12, 2014

New York Gov Andrew M Cuomo admits request by state lawmakers for a raise in base salary is not unreasonable but says legislators do not appear interested in what he wants in return--cap on their earnings on outside jobs and public financing system. MORE

Dec. 11, 2014

National Labor Relations Board Judge Geoffrey Carter rules that Walmart managers in California illegally disciplined employees for going on strike and unlawfully threatened to close store if many of its employees joined group demanding higher wages. MORE

Dec. 11, 2014

Michael Powell Sports of The Times column explores reasons why five Buffalo Bills cheerleaders, known as Buffalo Jills, are suing for unpaid wages; two cheerleaders describe many activities, some humiliating, they were asked to participate in, for which they received no compensation; because of lawsuit Buffalo Bills have disbanded squad for this season. MORE

Dec. 10, 2014

Supreme Court rules unanimously that temp agency is not required to pay workers at Amazon warehouses for time they spend waiting to go through security screening at end of day. MORE

Dec. 9, 2014

Ambitious package of ethics reforms could pave way for first raise for members of New York State Legislature since 1999; Gov Andrew M Cuomo must agree to raise, and he says it will not happen major new measures in place to protect against corruption. MORE

Dec. 8, 2014

Editorial opposes proposed pay raise for New York State legislators, noting that they are already among the highest-paid in country; argues that notion of rewarding group is particularly galling given general culture of corruption in Albany. MORE

Dec. 4, 2014

Financial volatility is a feature of life for millions of American workers whose paychecks fluctuate with the season, hourly schedule or size of a weekly commission; Federal Reserve survey based on 2013 data suggests problem has not only persisted as economy recovers but may even have worsened, with more than 30 percent of Americans reporting spikes and dips in their incomes. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

Report by National Council on Teacher Quality, nonprofit group that advocates tougher teacher standards, asserts that over course of their careers, teachers in certain cities earn far less than those elsewhere and hit their pay scale maximum far later, making it hard for them to live a basic middle-class life. MORE

Nov. 30, 2014

Editorial highlights study by researchers at Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University examining why net worth of homeowners significantly outpaces that of renters over time; contends housing bust should underscore need for conditions under which middle- and lower-income Americans can sustain homeownership; calls for policies that lift wages, as well as approaches to managing economy to ensure fair share of growth goes to wages. MORE

Nov. 29, 2014

Thousands of protesters gather at Walmarts nationwide to protest what they say are the retailer's low wages; it is the third year that Our Walmart, union-backed group of Walmart employees, has sponsored protests on day after Thanksgiving. MORE

Nov. 21, 2014

National Employment Law Project study finds that real wages for manufacturing workers have declined by 4.4 percent over past decade, nearly three times the rate of decline for workers as a whole; shrinking blue-collar pay is squeezing workers out of middle-class, even as White House and Congressional leaders insist that expanding manufacturing base is key to nation's prosperity. MORE

Nov. 15, 2014

Federal Judge Paul A Engelmayer rules that Midtown Manhattan strip club Rick's Cabaret must pay at least $10.8 million in back pay to about 1,900 dancers who performed there without being paid hourly wages; amount owed to dancers could be much higher, depending on outcome of trial set for 2015. MORE

Nov. 15, 2014

Tara Siegel Bernard Your Money column notes a growing number of companies, in effort to close gender wage gap, are running pay equity analyses to determine whether their female employees are paid on par with equivalent men and, if not, to devise ways to fill gap. MORE

Nov. 13, 2014

Metropolitan Opera asks solo singers to voluntarily lower their fees, including some of opera's biggest stars in the request; move follows financial struggles that have led opera to cut the pay of its orchestra, chorus, stagehands and other workers. MORE

Nov. 11, 2014

The Upshot; Democratic Party's not-very-clear short-term plan to help the middle class and address slowdown in wages in part led to its losses in midterm elections; question facing both parties as 2016 presidential campaign begins to stir is how party will respond to wage slowdown; best hope for lifting middle-class incomes in immediate future is tax cut. MORE

Nov. 10, 2014

Australia, much like the United States, is about to test just how much work employers can ask young workers to perform in unpaid internships before facing fines for breaking country's labor laws; prominent case involves sports broadcaster Crocmedia, which is in court over issue. MORE

Oct. 28, 2014

Some economists point to Denmark, where fast-food workers make base wage of $20 an hour, more than twice what they would in the United States, in discussions about American wages; many American economists and business groups say comparison is deeply flawed because of fundamental differences between two countries. MORE

Oct. 27, 2014

Salaries of Major League Soccer players lag far behind others in major professional sports leagues, key topic of discussion as league's postseason begins; while league's revenue and ratings still lag far behind billion-dollar behemoths like the NFL and Major League Basball, MLS has minted its own crop of multi-millionaire players and is set for an infusion of television money starting in 2015. MORE

Oct. 11, 2014

The Upshot; furor over Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella's comments advising women not to ask for raises highlights fact that women are still treated differently than men at work, despite becoming more educated than men; one main reason for workplace paradox is that women negotiate less than men, including for higher pay, and are often penalized if they do. MORE

Oct. 9, 2014

Satya Nadella, the chief executive of Microsoft, implied during a speech on Thursday that women should not ask for pay raises, a statement that quickly put him in the hot seat. MORE

Oct. 9, 2014

Supreme Court hears arguments over whether workers at Amazon warehouse in Las Vegas must be paid for time they spend waiting to go through security screening at end of the day; such security checks are common among retailers, and amount of money at stake is enormous. MORE

Oct. 7, 2014

David Leonhardt The Upshot; American workers are mired in the great wage slowdown of the 21st century, with typical American family making less than typical family did 15 years earlier; hourly pay has risen just 2 percent over past year, puzzling workers and economists; says political turmoil is unlikely to end until economic reality changes. MORE

Oct. 5, 2014

Concept of playoff bonuses in baseball is alive and well; champions will divide 36 percent of a pool of money generated from postseason gate receipts, just as in 1903; pool comes from 60 percent of gate receipts from first four games of World Series and League Championship Series, and first three games of division series, 24 guaranteed games in all. MORE